Using FAB Strategies®

FABTrigCopForms“Functionally Alert Behavior” FAB Strategies® is an evidence-based curriculum of environmental adaptation, sensory modulation, positive behavioral support, and physical self-regulation strategies for improving the functional behavior of children, adolescents and young adults with complex behavioral challenges FAB Strategies ERIC document Complex behavioral challenges involve a combination of inter-related mental health, developmental, sensory and environmental challenges. The FAB Strategies® curriculum is individualized by occupational, physical, speech and mental health therapists for coordinated use in conjunction with the client, their family and teachers.  The FAB Strategies®curriculum emphasizes the use of a coordinated multidisciplinary approach that addresses specific goal-directed functional behaviors in the natural environment.
FAB Strategies® is useful for guiding integrated individual, group, and home program intervention by teachers, family members, as well as occupational, physical, speech and mental health therapists. Teachers, therapists and familys face the challenge of helping students develop the behavioral skills that support learning. This challenge has become more difficult given the increasing academic demands and numbers of students with complex behavioral challenges. It is crucial to help students with complex behavioral challenges because their behaviors interfere with these students’ and their classmates learning. The “Functionally Alert Behavior” FAB Strategies® curriculum can improve self-control in students with complex behavioral challenges.
The FAB Strategies Form guides therapists in developing an individualized program for improving the client’s functional behavior fab-stratform Section A environmental adaptations provide the structural foundation for FAB Strategies. The child’s response related to his functional goal guides the use of environmental adaptations. Environmental adaptations include adaptive equipment such as fidgets, visual schedules and adaptive techniques.

Environmental enrichment through adaptive equipment, visual schedules, and adaptive techniques reduces aggression in children with behavioral challenges and developmental disabilities. When developing environmental adaptations, it is important to consider the dynamic relationship between the child’s behavioral, sensory, cognitive, and environmental challenges. Environmental structure and behavioral demands are interacting variables, with greater sensory demands suggesting the need for more structure. When children show improved self-control or demands are decreased, structure is reduced to promote independence.
Section B sensory modulation strategies help lower stress and enhance self-regulation, with the massage activities included in this section. Sensory modulation includes body awareness, basic mindfulness, touch, and motor self-control strategies. The Pagano FAB Trigger & Coping forms use pictures visually representing common environmental and body triggers as well as sensory coping strategies for children with behavioral, developmental, and sensory challenges.

Section C positive behavioral control strategies improve behavior and communication skills. Learning social and communication skills significantly improves the behavior of children with developmental and behavioral challenges. Functional communication can be supported and rewarded through socially embedded reinforcers. For example, when a child says or signs “jump”, the therapist takes the child’s hands and jumps with the child. Section C also includes the FAB Turtle Technique, where a child notices his triggers and does his individualized self-calming strategies in the sensory coping area.

Section D physical sensory strategies promote attention, behavior, and social skills through cardiovascular, dynamic balance, sensory motor, and sequential bilateral tasks. Children with developmental challenges are motivated to participate in sensory activities, making them an effective means for promoting behavioral change. FAB Strategies attend to a child’s arousal level so he can play without becoming overly excited. For example, if a child rates his energy level as “uncomfortably high” following play ground tasks he is assisted in calming down before returning to class.

“Functionally Alert Behavior” FAB Strategies® offers an evidence-based curriculum of environmental adaptation, sensory modulation, positive behavioral support, and physical self-regulation strategies for improving the functional behavior of children, adolescents and young adults with complex behavioral challenges.  Application of the FAB Strategies®curriculum emphasizes ta coordinated multidisciplinary approach that addresses specific goal-directed functional behaviors in the natural environment.